Friday, 17 June 2016

Buffon: Bonucci the world's best, but Italy wary of Ibrahimovic

The Italy shot stopper is
believes the Azzurri are lucky to have a special talent like his
Juventus team-mate in the team but insists Sweden's "superstar" will
cause problems

Gianluigi
Buffon has hailed Italy team-mate Leonardo Bonucci as one of the "best
in the world" in his position, but has warned that Zlatan Ibrahimovic
will cause problems for his side on Friday.
Bonucci has been a key member of a dominant Juventus side over the
last few years and is a crucial part of an all-Bianconeri back three
alongside Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli.
And Buffon believes the 29-year-old is a special talent, insisting he is a "complete player".

He said: "Everyone can see the attributes that Leo has. He's the
defensive playmaker of our team because he's brilliant at playing the
ball out from the back.
"He's got great feet and the courage to play these risky passes and
start these audacious moves. I think that he's improved enormously over
the past few years. I really think that he's the complete player and one
of the best in the world in his position."
"With
all the defences I've played with, I've always had a special rapport
with these players. I think that's the most important ingredient when it
comes to achieving success.
"We've been playing together for a number of years. We're a
fully-functioning unit, like clockwork, we know each other well, even
off the pitch.
"However, one can never afford to relax at this level. That's why if
we want to come off the pitch with a good result, we have to be focused
and prepare well."
Their main focus will be on Buffon's ex-Juventus
team-mate Ibrahimovic, who will lead the line for Sweden on Friday and
was the scorer of a stunning back-heeled volley against Italy at Euro
2004.
"It was a great goal," admitted Buffon. "Although I didn't fully
appreciate that wonderful technical ability until a few years later.
"Back then, though, he was clearly special but he was still quite
young and we weren't quite sure how to understand how far he would go.
"Twelve years on, he's already achieved so many things and won so
many titles - and he's already scored that kind of goal three or four
times. It's become his specialty. When he does things like that these
days, it's no longer a surprise.
"Clearly we are very wary of him. He's one of a small group of
absolute superstars that always make the difference for the teams that
they play for.
"But clearly Sweden are not a one-man team, they have a number of
other great players. A talent like his, and his belief in himself that
he is a superstar, is not something you see in the other players. But
for myself and my team-mates in the back-line, he's going to be very
dangerous."